What Regret Tastes Like
by Anna145
Summary: Annabeth feels responsible for Thalia s death, and Percy tries to help her overcome that memory by sending her back to it. She tries to change the past, learning a valuable lesson in the process.Set:beginning of SOM. COMPLETE! REVIEW!
1. Paralyzed

**What Regret Tastes Like**

**Chapter 1- Paralyzed**

**A/N So I decided to write a short story. This has nothing to do with Somewhere in Time but I wrote it to get away from the story for a while. (By the way, Chapter 11 is up.) I know I should be updating but I have a severe case of Writer´s Block so I´m publishing this instead. I hope you like it. This is set at the beginning of the Sea of Monsters when Percy, Annabeth and Tyson arrive to Camp to find Thalia´s tree poisoned. Again it is in Annabeth´s POV, I suck at Percy´s or anyone else´s for that matter. Sorry. Please Review, even if it sucked. I plan on making this story about three or four chapters long, Again, Please review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks.**

**Chapter 1- Paralyzed**

We were almost to the hill now. Percy of course running slower than Thalia, while she is in tree form. But as I focused on something else besides his flaws, I noticed something. Something I woul´ve seen had I been focused and paying attention. I reprimanded myself because of that, then went back to stare at Half-Blood Hill as I ran.

The tree.

How could I have not realized it? As I got closer, I saw monsters coming and going through the boundary as they pleased. Demigods were all over the fight, trying to kill the bronze bulls that came at them. As I saw the pine tree that should've kept them out, I stopped dead in my tracks.

The bark was an unhealthy shade of green; some sticky yellow sap was coming out of it. The leaves were turning orange, and there were already some which had withered and fallen to the ground. What had they done to her?! I looked again at the battle scene. Fire, screaming, monsters, campers, and Percy and Tyson attempting to get past the bulls. My eyes snapped shut, but that wasn't enough to keep the bad memories away. I opened them again, this time to find myself in a different yet similar situation. One so awful, I still had nightmares about. It marked the beginning of my stay here at Camp, but at the same time, it also marked the end of my first real family.

_We've failed. _

_I'm so tired I have to concentrate on bringing one foot quickly after the other to stop myself from stopping, as I race away from everything. On to the hill that Thalia said was home. I can't hear anything. The thud-thud in my ears doesn't let me listen to anything else. I can't go on. I can barely see anymore. I'm so cold, even with the green jacket Luke gave me. It doesn't matter anymore. I don't know where he is. I can't hear him! I can't see. I'm scared._

_I trip._

_I trip and stay down as a horrible sound rumbles next to my head. I breathe hard, unable to stop myself from making a noise. I look up. The monster topples over me, raising his sword above his head. _

_I'm lost. We're lost. It's over. They are right behind us now. The monster lowers his knife but falters, sprinkling me with yellowish dust. _

"_Annabeth! You okay?"_

_Luke's voice. I nod blindly. _

"_Come on. We're almost there." _

_He helps me up and even though I'm with him, I feel alone. And so I keep running. I look away from the setting sun and see that we are almost to the top now. Thalia is behind us. But she isn't close like always. This time, she´s far away. _

"_Luke!" she barks and we turn around to face her. "Get Annabeth and Grover over the border, yell for help!" _

"_I'm not leaving you alone." He says. _

_She is fighting hard. She´s brave, but there are too many. I scream at her. She doesn't turn. She is in danger and no one is doing anything. _

"_You promised! Annabeth comes first! You have to make her safe!" she doesn't speak again, but she is almost close to us now. Grover tries to push me down the hill, and Luke lets him. I let out a yell of rage. I'm so angry._

"_No! I stay here and fight the monsters with you!" I say to Thalia when she reaches us. Luke's gone. He is fighting a snake woman somewhere to my right. Thalia looks at the approaching monsters and readies her spear. Sparks fly everywhere around her._

"_Annabeth, I want you to run down this hill and don´t look back. Get out of here now." She says slowly, as if I wouldn't understand if she spoke more quickly. This makes me angrier. _

"_You don't trust me! I can fight, but you never let me! You don't think you can do anything just because you're older, and I can´t!" I complain. The monsters are in our faces now, but she turns to me. She looks very angry. Angrier than I have ever seen her. Her eyes smolder and she, too, tries to push me downhill, but I still whine. She is crying in rage. She is yelling at me to run. _

_But a shadow passes over our heads and Thalia is gone too. I hear a deafening BOOM! And I see grass, then sky, and then grass once more. I hit my head on something hard. It hurts. My head feels wet and sticky. My sight is blurry. I stand up. I see Luke on the ground with his eyes closed, and I tumble towards him, but lightning and screaming stop me. I look over, and around, for Thalia. She is nowhere. I run to the base of the hill. She is not there either. I look up, to the top of the hill. _

_I see a pine tree. _

I refocused my eyesight into the present. Percy was on the ground with Tyson and Chiron trying to help him up. The hill had scorch marks all over the grass. Campers and naiads ran over to douse the remaining flames with water, but I just stood there, paralyzed, with tears in my eyes. The bulls were gone, and Clarisse was yelling and swearing. Percy looked up and stared right at me, his green eyes full of confusion.

"What happened to you?"


	2. Confessed

**What Regret Tastes Like**

**Chapter 2-Confessed**

**A/N Thanks to everyone who reviewed. All 4 of them... being Clara (of course!!) Adonai63 (thank you!!! mon AMI! ;) and WannabeWise Girl (thnx soo much :)  
****:( AND TO MY BFF: (if you´re not her you can skip this, it´s not relevant) Tadorooo rapi tortugaa!!! Mil gracias, menzaa cmo crees qe no lo escribí iio?! Claroo qe sii! jaja nta1000 grax Reviews make my day! Y srry x lo de tu liibro, esqe mi madre no lo acabaa!!!! ugh.... pro bno, t lo dare en enero cn intereses y tdo. ;) srry. qe mas? ah si, estoii iwal de obsesionadaa qe tuu... eso m pasa pr hacerte ksoo... jajaja xoroo pro sii osea iia me traumee cn tdo esto d Logan Lerman y Percy Jackson: "This is a pen!" hahaha qe riisa. Q bnoo qe nos hablemos d nuevoo, t extrañaba horriible mantaa!! jajaja pro bno, iia c acabo la iinspiraciion entoncs mjor paro d escribiir antes d qe empiieze a deciir babosadaas... TQMM amiiga nto tqkñoon! mil graciias!!! bsoos, merry x-mas!!!!! **

**Disclaimer-I´m pretty sure I didn´t write the PJO series.... so yeah.... I DON´T OWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! **

**chapter 2-Confessed**

Okay, after four hours of tossing and turning, one thing became obvious to me: sleep would evade me at all costs.

I preferred it that way…maybe. If I didn't sleep, that would mean I'd have no nightmares. And I'd rather not sleep at all than to relive my past. I wasn't _that _tired, or masochistic for that matter.

By the time morning rolled around, I snuck out of my cabin and went down to the lake, already dressed. The warm breeze felt so unusual for the early hour.

I sat down on the pier, with my feet dangling off the edge, and just stared down at the water, forcing my mind to go blank.

"Hey," a very familiar voice said from behind me. It startled me, for I had been sitting there in the calm for nearly an hour, and the sudden noise had made me jump. "Got a minute?" Percy's voice was kind, but I couldn't help the twinge of exasperation I felt.

"No, I'm busy, maybe later." I said maybe a little too harshly.

"With what?" he snorted and after I didn't respond, he added, "If you stare down that lake any deeper, you're going to need a snorkel."

He apparently wasn't getting the hint.

"I just wanted to talk to you," he continued. Yep, still oblivious. "It's kind of important."

I stood up and walked past him. He followed.

"Yeah? Well, so is Chiron being fired, _maybe later_," my tone was slightly more threatening. He kept pushing his luck, regardless.

We were almost to the volleyball courts now, and I could see Thalia´s dying tree from here.

"It's about what happened yesterday," Percy said.

"Not right now," I insisted.

"Annabeth, I-" he began and I stopped dead on my tracks.

"I said NOT NOW!" I practically screamed in his face.

Heads turned to watch us, but I just continued uphill. Percy flinched, but followed soon after. _Gods! Was there any way to get rid of him? _I thought desperately. But maybe, just maybe, I was being a little too hard on him.

"Annabeth, I know about Thalia!" he blurted.

_Smart, Seaweed Brain, real smart thing to say right now. _

I threw my head back and glared daggers at the sky as I reached the pine tree which was looking better and better every passing minute. Percy continued to talk.

"We're worried about you and well- you can, you can talk to- um…uh…Grover and I…We just want to help!" his tone made it clear he was frustrated. I turned to face him, and saw that some of my friends were there too. I recognized the Stoll twins, Grover, Malcolm, Lee Fletcher, Silena Beauregard, and Katie Gardner. I shook my head and touched the withered leaves from the tree.

"Fine, just…not here okay? We'll talk at the commons area."

They nodded, but I wasn't sure if it was in agreement or understanding. Either way, I bean to feel like talking wasn't a very good idea right now. I shouldn't have given in. I looked at the tree once more and followed my friends back to the cabins. Once there, Percy and I sat together at the steps of the Poseidon cabin, every one else gathering in a tight circle around us except for Lee who stood next to Percy and Grover, who stood farthest from the group, looking deep in anguish. I took a deep breath.

"So I wasn't the ideal `runaway partner´ you know? I-uh, was slower, got hungrier and sleepier more often, and wasn't as great fighter as Luke or Thalia," I began and Grover whimpered.

"Annabeth, you were seven!" Percy protested.

"Yeah, but I was cruel, Percy. Especially to Thalia. I just thought she was angry all the time. But never at me, just at the situation. She got so overprotective of me sometimes, and I remember feeling…_annoyed._ I felt she didn't trust me. Of course now I know she just wanted my safety." I glared at the ground, and started speaking slower and slower. "The day she died, I told her she wasn't even my family, which was stupid because that wasn't even how I felt. Just because we weren't _related_- on the mortal side anyway- doesn't mean she wasn't part of my family, because… she was." My voice broke horribly.

"Honey, you were just feeling lost. I agree with Percy, you were just too little, you didn't actually mean what you said. And I'm sure you also told her you cared for her." Silena broke in, and I shook my head furiously.

"Not in time," I whispered. Percy frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked. I couldn't bring myself to look at him, or at anybody for that matter.

"It was late afternoon and we were almost to the border, but all the monsters we'd been running away from caught up with us. There were about um- twenty or thirty, I don't remember." A tear escaped my eyes, and I wiped it away briskly. "Anyway, Thalia told Luke to run with me downhill and take Grover, that she would buy us some time. Of course Luke said no, and I began whining about never getting a chance to fight and how she didn't think I could do anything," Another tear rolled down my cheek, then another, and another as I stared at Half-Blood Hill, and flashbacks tortured my mind to no end. "And she just… lost it. She was so angry with me…" My voice was shrill, hardly understandable. I swallowed and tried again. "She was so angry with me. She- She didn't… she didn't see the- hellhound that leaped at her, and- nest thing I know," I took a ragged breath, "I'm rolling down the grass, the hill is on fire, and there's only a tree. I still don't know why I survived-and, -she didn't. She was so much stronger than I was…" I trailed off, crying freely now.

"But you can't blame yourself for that," Katie whispered gently. I shook my head again.

"Well, I feel guilty. Every. Single. Day."

"I know it's hard but- You gotta try and…move forward," Percy began. I sobbed in frustration.

"How can I move forward, Percy? I killed Thalia." I cried.

Silena hugged me, and I heard one of the Stoll twins mutter, "What do we do? How do we help her deal with something that happened in the past?"

Lee looked at me gravely, deep in thought, for a long moment.

"We send her back to it," he decided.

**Please review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You know you want to press that green button....you know you do....press it....press it....so close now...yes....press that button....and write something! anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Anna :)**


	3. Remembered

**What Regret Tastes Like**

**Chapter 3- Remembered**

**A/N Thank you guys for all the reviews! Sorry for not updating. I´ll make a HUGE effort to have chapter 12 of Somewhere in Time up by tomorrow morning, what with preparing for New Year´s eve is going to be hard, but I promise to try and wake up early tomorrow to post it. Wit my best wishes for this new year, I leave you with chapter three of my second story. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Disclaimer-I do not actually remember writing these awesome series...nope, I don´t think they´re mine. Does RICK RIORDAN ring a bell? Anyone?**

**Chapter 3- Remembered**

"Okay wait, so I don't get it." Percy began, his eyebrows furrowing.

"There's a shocker," I muttered, but he completely ignored me.

We had snuck into the Big House and were all sitting on the comfortable couches the game room provided. Malcolm, Katie, and Grover had all left, (Gone to read, tend gardens, and take a deep breath respectively. Grover could not stand the memories, the remorse. Poor satyr, I couldn't blame him, but at least it hadn't been _his _fault.) Leaving only the Stolls, Silena, Percy, Lee, and I. While everyone else seemed curious, Lee was completely focused. On what, you may ask? Yeah, as far as I could gather from his incoherent words and expressions, we were going to summon the ghost from the past, and I was absolutely terrified.

Percy went on, like I said, completely disregarding my sarcastic comment. "You want to summon the ghost from the past? From where? The fiction shelf?"

Lee looked offended, "Dickens didn't make that stuff up, Percy. He was actually visited by a malevolent spirit,"

"Doesn't malevolent mean _bad_?" Travis Stoll asked.

"Clyde's not the friendliest ghost I know, but he is the only one who helps the living visit their past." Lee explained.

Percy snorted. Loudly.

"_Clyde?! _The malevolent spirit's name is _Clyde?!" _

He laughed, I glared, he shut up.

"Yeah, he doesn't like it either." Lee murmured. Apparently he was getting exasperated of Percy not taking this thing seriously. I was, too.

"So, how do we get him down here? Or… _up _here?" Silena asked uncertainly. Lee looked at her, holding up his index finger as he spoke.

"There's only one way to get Clyde over here." He turned his head towards the sky, and began yelling angrily, "Clyde! Get your butt down here you fetid worm from the bog of eternal stench!"

Our faces must've been priceless.

"You gotta make him mad," he explained to us in a whisper, then continued to shout, "Your mother was a chunky substance from a gin cesspool! She smelled bad, too!"

A gust of wind hissed around us and a man materialized in front of us.

The guy could've easily passed as a hobo.

His clothes were ragged and torn and he was barefoot. He had a grimy face, beard, and dirty blond hair trimmed short with what looked suspiciously like rusty-pocket-knife cuts. His eyes were an ugly shade of blue, and his teeth were a mixture of yellow and black. Some were already missing. He looked around frowning aggressively, completely dismissive of us until he noticed Lee.

"Lee!" he roared in a raspy, hard voice. "I was with a client! 1969, Woodstock, Hendrix was on stage! Oh, this better be good," he threatened.

"I need you to take Annabeth here back to the day of her greatest pain," Lee spoke slowly, gesturing toward me.

Clyde turned his eyes on me, and his expression changed almost immediately from furious to businesslike.

"A job? Why didn't you say so in the first place?" he asked, still not lifting his gaze off me.

"Not a job," Lee corrected quickly, as if he were afraid Clyde had taken it the wrong way. Judging by the light on his dirty blue eyes, he had. "A _favor," _

Clyde's brow furrowed once more, and his expression went back to the original.

"I don't do charity work," he complained, looking at Silena, who cowered into the couch.

"You owe me, Clyde. Or do I need to remind you of that client of yours I healed? The one who you brought back from the edge of a _cliff? _I believe there were _thirty-two _broken bones," Lee recalled matter-of-factly.

"Alright, Alright, I remember," Clyde grumbled, turning back to me. "Are you sure you want to do this? I only open the door to your past; I don't guarantee no safe trip!" he spat. I mean, literally _spat_ at me. Gross.

"Obviously…" Percy, who had gone very quiet, spoke up.

"Yeah, I need to do this." I muttered.

"Fine." He turned to Percy, "_you _guide her."

Percy looked at him, startled. "Me? But I don't-"

"Just do as he says, Percy. And will you come here for a sec? I'd like to talk to you." Lee sighed.

**Percy's POV(I know it´s short, but it´s about as much as you can ask from me. I SUCK at writing from POVs. Seriously, if you don´t believe me, read on. See for yourselves.)**

Lee led me into the corner and looked at me with huge eyes. They were dead serious.

"Listen to me very carefully. You have no idea how dangerous this is about to get. You know how Annabethis. She will want to saveThalia, change the past. You cannot, under any circumstances, allow that. She could very well get you hurt, or herself. Remind her constantly she is there only to learn a lesson: to relive her past and nothing else. As her guide, you will be invisible to Luke or Thalia, only Annabeth will be able to see and hear you." He kept talking, but I was too frozen in place to listen carefully. Something in the back of my head told me I should. "Again, Percy, DO NOT let her change it. Do you understand me?"

I nodded solemnly. The truth is, I was terrified. Why would Annabeth want to do something like this? Was she masochistic or something? I couldn't help but get angry at the fact that she was putting herself in danger just to see Luke (the "nice guy" Luke) again.

Not Luke, Thalia. I told myself.

But if she said she needed it, well, maybe I should listen to her just this once.

**Annabeth´s POV **

Percy walked back next to me, looking pale, with Lee right behind him. Whatever they had talked about, Percy seemed shaken, and I didn't like it. It made me feel on edge, paranoid. Clyde snapped his fingers and a wooden door fell in front of us. He opened it, and I stared at what looked like an endless universe, black and blue. I gulped.

"You ready?" Percy asked me.

"Whenever you are," I answered back, turning towards Lee.

"Just don't look down." He smiled reassuringly.

_Pfft, yeah right. I'll keep that in mind when I'm falling through the bottomless pit of doom. _

I jumped with Percy right behind me.

I tried really hard not to scream.

But I screamed my head off anyways.

Like I said, it felt exactly like falling through a bottomless pit of doom, not that I ever had actually fell through one before this time, or that I was planning on doing it again, but it was just the sensation I imagined I would feel if I ever fell through a bottomless pit of doom. Awful.

I stumbled into a new scene, this one greener than the last.

I was standing (more like rolling actually,) in the middle of some woods probably around midday. When I could finally stand up and take a look around, I saw my reflection on a nearby stream.

"Rough ride, you all right?" Percy asked, dusting off his jeans.

"No! WH-what is this? Oh my gods, is this my voice?!"

I was seven years old again! With dirt all over my clothes (jeans and a white blouse) dust covering my face, my hair dirty and long, my curls almost to my waist now. My eyes seemed wild, desperate, and angry. I definitely looked like a troubled kid. Probably because I was.

Percy looked at me, and then shrugged. "Guess so. You're meant to relive the experience, not sit on the sidelines and make sarcastic comments about your lack of style." Of course he meant it as a joke, but as always, I took his humor the wrong way.

"And you knew about this? Gods! I'm seven! All over again! Do you know what that means?! I don't even remember anything from before…" I trailed off.

Percy was about to answer but was abruptly cut off by a much-too-familiar voice.

"Annabeth?!" it was slightly panicked, like it didn't know if I was okay.

My memory began to work properly. Now I remembered. We had gone off to pick berries, but I had gotten lost. Luke was looking for me, yelling that Thalia would kill him if he didn't find me. His voice had sounded so frightened, like he really cared what happened to me. Now I knew better.

I glanced over at Percy and saw him glaring in the direction of Luke's voice.

"What do I do?" I hissed at him. He turned to me.

"Answering would be a good idea. Or, do you still have your knife? Maybe we could stab him…" he trailed off, watching the look on my face. He didn't need to make it any harder than it already was, but of course, being Seaweed Brain, he had to.

Turns out, I didn't really have to answer. Luke appeared out from the bushes, but I hardly looked at him. It was too painful, too hard, too wrong.

"Thank the gods! Thalia would've killed me if I had you lost again!" he exclaimed.

"Well, you found me. Sorry about that. I just got distracted. Come on, lets get back to the tents."

My voice sounded so odd. Childish in tone, but mature in words. I tugged on his left wrist (which was as high as my height would let me) because the other one was gripping a basket full of blood-red berries. I recoiled at the color, but Percy followed wordlessly. Luke seemed taken aback by my cold answer, but followed me anyways. I dared not to look at him, but when we finally arrived to our camp for the night, it wasn't so hard anymore. My attention was completely redirected.

"Where in Hades have you been?! Picking berries never takes this long, Luke!"

She was staring reproachfully at him. Her unique black haircut was the result of combining impatience, lack of scissors, and a dagger being to close at hand. Her eyes were the color of the sky, with rings of black around them. Freckles were sprinkled occasionally across her nose. Her lips were set in a frown, a permanent scowl that –though intimidating and frightening- did not mar her beautiful features.

I couldn't help but grin at her signature punk style. Black layer over black wrapping around her thin, athletic figure. My eyes wandered back to hers. They were ever-so expressive, with a strange aura of electricity flickering in them. They would flash when she got mad, and twinkle like stars when she was happy. She was standing next to a young boy with dark, curly hair, Converse hi-tops, and jeans. Grover.

"Sorry, we got a bit lost. But we found a lot of berries huh, Annabeth?" Luke said, and she rolled her eyes.

I reminded myself that I had something to do.

I ran to the girl who had been through so much on what seemed so long ago. The girl who had been my best friend. My sister.

"Thalia!"

**PLEASE REVIEW!!! **

**Anna :)**


	4. Realized

What Regret Tastes Like

Chapter 4- Realized

**A/N so sorry!!!!!!! I don't really have some lame excuse as to why I didn't update. The only thing I have to say in my defense, is that I was out of the country, with no computer. Sorry!! Oh and I'll try to update somewhere in time, it's just I lost Chapter 12 which was already edited and ready to be posted. But now it's lost!! Please pray to the gods that I find it soon. It has to be somewhere in my so called "room" which looks more like cabin 11. (Hermes Cabin if you're wondering.) So, please don't send your hellhounds out to get me. Instead send an offering to Olympus to help me find those $%^&$% papers!!!! So, now that I am done ranting, I leave you with chapter 4 of this story. I know. Not my best. Sorry.**

**Disclaimer- Do I really have to do this? Seriously, I AM NOT RICK RIORDAN! much to my disappointment...I would really like to own the PJO series. BUT I DON'T SO DEAL WITH IT. (Wait, that last part was meant for me...) **

**Chapter 4- Realized**

Curse my height.

I ran forward and hugged her, but only managed to get a little above her waist. She stiffened for a frightening second, but then returned my embrace a little awkwardly.

"Hey," she said, and her voice brought tears into my eyes. "What did Luke do this time huh?"

"Thalia I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it! I was just saying it…" my childish voice dropped below hearing as realization hit, "to hurt you." Just like my tone, my eyes lowered to the ground.

I had a combination of mixed feelings as she put a hand on my shoulder. The sensation was such a rush, I didn't have time to identify them, or maybe I just didn't want to.

"Hey, it's no big deal, Annabeth. You were mad." She said simply. "We all get stressed out sometime." She added in a whisper, and although she was practically saying it didn't matter, I could tell my cutting words had served their intended purpose. It hurt me to have hurt _her._ _And _Luke, but he had it well deserved so that was a different story. "But I have some good news, you know?" she went on, completely oblivious to my…memories? "We are so close to home now. We will be sleeping in a real bed in no time."

I _tried_ to perk up at the news. Tried, and failed disastrously at it.

How could it be good? How was I going to live through this?...again. I had barely survived it the first time, and only because Luke had been there. Yes, Luke was a painful reminder of those dark days, but, at the same time, he was proof. Proof that she had been there with me, sitting in a drain pipe all night long with only rats and dripping water to be of company, hiding from pursuing monsters. Proof that she had shared with me her last stolen pretzel, and that she had given me her coat on nights where it was so cold you couldn't speak without biting your tongue off. Proof that she had been _real. _

But now, Luke was gone too. Gone in a different way than her, yes. But still gone. Absent. Evil. Still, it seemed the Fates had one last comfort to offer me. I just hoped they wouldn't take _him _away. Little did I know that from now on, I would gradually learn to put blind trust on Percy. Great enough, to trust him with my life, even. Thinking back on it, I just had, more than twice. A sudden feeling of admiration spread through me.

Or was it something else?

"Annabeth!" Percy hissed, breaking my train of thought. I turned to him, my eyes still somewhat dreamy, glazed over. He gestured toward Thalia. "At least try to show excitement,"

Oh, right.

"Yay!" I clapped my hands childishly, and Luke laughed.

Maybe on instinct, I turned to glare at him. He looked startled, his blue eyes wide with shock, then hurt. I could clearly read the one thought written all over his face: _what did I do?_

'What_ will _you do'_? _I corrected mentally. Percy looked at me pointedly. His sparkling green eyes were even more expressive than Thalia's. He was clearly glad I resented Luke. (As long as he was concerned, that was the sensible thing to do. But, really, when had Seaweed Brain ever been _sensible? _He couldn't be wise even to save his own life. But then, why did I have the constant, pressing feeling he was _right?_) But he also looked like he was thinking the same thing as I was. At least on some remote level. Luke hadn't done anything yet. This wasn't the same Luke from before…I mean, _after. _Ugh, this is so confusing. The fact that he had become bitter and cold didn't matter in these days. Dark ones, yes, but also hopeful, exciting.

Days of _family._

That was something I had never come to experience fully, not even in Camp Half-Blood, but had a good taste of so at the time. I realized my gaze had softened remarkably, and I was even smiling now. But Luke's gaze was confused.

"Annabeth?" he began tentatively, "Are you feeling okay? You've been acting weird ever since I found you in the woods. Did you see something-?"

"I'm fine," I muttered.

"Could've fooled me." Percy whispered.

"Shut up,"

Luke's eyes widened even more. "What?" was all he could ask.

"Oh, nothing. How far are we from Camp?"

"About five miles, maybe more. If we hurry, we can make it today. Tomorrow, at the latest." Luke said, and then added, "Right, Grover?"

The satyr looked up, startled. The melody he was playing on his reed pipes was abruptly cut off.

"Yeah," he said nervously. "Not so far now."

"I say we hurry, and then we can arrive today. Gods a hot bath and a soft bed would be nice for a change." Thalia mused dreamily.

An idea began forming in my mind; I blurted it out before I could give it any second thought, which wasn't like me.

"Well I say we sleep over there tonight, clog our scent, and then continue tomorrow." I suggested, pointing to a spot farther ahead in the woods and rubbing my eyes for dramatic effect.

Percy gasped. Softly, but it was enough for me to notice him. I hadn't taken _him_ into the equation… this is what happened when I didn't think things through before saying them. And believe me, it rarely happened. Usually my plans were…well, … _planned,_ not just some random idea that had popped into my mind. Even under pressing, life-or-death situations, which occurred most of the time. But I was also a strategist and so I could take any factor from the original idea and bend it to my will. I wasn't that far in this mess. But it was about to get a lot bigger. Another miscalculation.

"What in the name of Hades are you doing? Are you crazy?" he hissed.

I ignored him.

"I agree with Thalia, Annabeth. We can be home sooner. We can get rid of those monsters today!" Luke said in a tone that almost convinced me.

Almost.

Grover scrunched up his face. By the way he did it, I could tell he smelled monsters. Maybe the scent hadn't worn off from our last encounter. Yes, that had to be it. I didn't want to believe that creatures from hell were chasing us this very instant. That every second I wasted was a second closer to the end.

The end I could not allow to reach me. Not this time, so I went on speaking.

"But I'm so tired! I can't get there today, please, let's just protect ourselves tonight and tomorrow we'll be safe in camp. It's our best bet."

I glanced over at the sun. It was still high up in the sky, we had time to stay here. The thing is, I didn't define where _here _was. This memory had already occupied more than five years of my life. I didn't realize either I couldn't keep it with me any longer. My time with this remembrance was up, but I wouldn't assimilate it. Not until it was too late.

And late would arrive soon.

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'LL MAKE YOU A COOKIE...OR BROWNIES....YEAH....I LIKE BROWNIES BETTER.....**


	5. Failed

**What Regret Tastes Like**

**Chapter 5- Failed**

**A/N Hi. So close to the end now. I just want to get this over with seeing as how this story wasn't popular at all. Thank you for those who reviewed... sorry it's short, not that anyone would mind really....**

**What regret tastes Like  
Chapter 5- Failed**

_Runaway horses, take us through the night.  
You and I are runaway horses.  
Racing through the darkness, trying to find some light.  
You and I, runaway horses.  
hold on tight._

It was the first time one of my plans had failed. But not the last time. Or well, at least I saw it as a failure back then. I'm not sure I do now.

Thalia, Luke, and Grover had agreed on resting up through the night, much to Percy's seething. The guy was furious at me, seriously. He wasn't even speaking, but I didn't only detect anger in his silence, I sensed worry and dread too. I cared, but not enough to stop from following a different path than the one I had before. I knew I could do this. I had to do this.

I had a right to want a family didn't I? I had every reason and right in the world to have one, too. It had been taken away from me, but here I was, with the second chance I'd been granted. I knew better than to waste an opportunity like this, and there wasn't anything Percy could do to change my mind, or worse, stop me.

Why was he being so resentful? He should be helping me instead. Everybody would win if I succeeded! Luke wouldn't go astray, Thalia would be alive, Percy would get his mind off the Prophecy, I would have my family back, and, for once, I would get to keep it.

I thought about this as I attempted to sleep in the late afternoon breeze. I was finally beginning to drift off when the sound of a panicked goat made me stand up immediately, dagger in hand.

"What, Grover?" Thalia asked, alarmed. I could see she had been woken up too, and she didn't look happy about it. She had her shield and spear ready, her eyes wide and dark, like a thunderstorm about to crash down.

"Monsters! Lots of them, the scent is even stronger than before. They're getting close."

"Are you sure?" Luke wandered. He was fully awake, his sword in his right hand, his hair and eyes wild.

Grover nodded, still bleating, horrified.

"We have to go then, reach Camp running. We aren't that far." Thalia muttered quickly. She was more alert now, a glint of fear sparkling in her eyes as she looked at me.

"You're right," Luke agreed, then went to business. "Thalia, grab a coat for Annabeth, leave everything else behind, scatter it in the woods, try and confuse the scent. Annabeth, get your dagger and walk right behind me. You have to do exactly as we tell you, okay?"

I nodded in pure panic. NOT AGAIN!

Thalia handed me a green jacket and began throwing everything else away-my spare clothes, a blanket, food…everything we'd touched- into the forest. She ran around in circles, touching here and there probably trying to leave the smell behind. She sapped a far away trunk with electricity and the air smelled of sulfur.

"Now! Come on Luke!" she yelled.

Luke didn't wait for me to start walking in the opposite direction. He picked me up like a little girl (which I was) and started running. Thalia was right behind us, running next to Grover, holding up her shield behind her, just in case.

The sense of déjà vu overwhelmed me. It was all too much; the smell, the feeling, the familiar scenery as we ran. Even the noise; the horrible growls and screeching that filled the late afternoon air with a terrifying edge. I was crying silently, when Luke huffed and put me down.

"Sorry, Annabeth, you're going to have to run the rest of the way. I can't carry you anymore, we're slowing down."

I nodded and looked back at Thalia. Hellhounds were chasing her, and she was trying to drive them back with her shield. I threw my dagger at one, and it pulverized, but I already knew there weren't just hellhounds after us. A whole line of empousai scattered around the trees, then some dracaenae, then giants and so on. The furies themselves were there, looking for Thalia. It was much too dangerous to have her so close to them.

"Annabeth, come on!" Luke yelled. He grabbed my arm and tried to pull me along, but I shook him off, and ran to Thalia.

Naturally, she told me to run, but I wasn't leaving without her, so I went for the bigger threat according to my memories: I killed all the hellhounds, and we sprinted off, following Grover and Luke.

The wind picked up, and clouds began covering the sky. I looked to my other side and saw that Percy was finally showing himself, running next to me. He turned to me and his eyes flashed only one word: SORRY.

I had a feeling he wasn't referring to the fit he'd had earlier. I knew it, but still refused to embrace it.

I looked away, but regretted it immediately. The memory that had been threatening to break me for so many years, crumbled on top of me. I was here, and it was real. I was reliving my worst nightmare.

We've failed.

**Anna :/**


	6. Owed

**What Regret Tastes Like**

**Chapter 6- Owed**

**A/N Final chapter, guys. This one IS the end, sorry if many people thought chapter five was the last one, but I couldn't bring myself to end it that way. So just read on, and review. (pfft...) Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer- Yeah, not really. **

**What Regret Tastes Like**

**Chapter 6- Owed**

The first thing I noticed was the weariness.

My lungs felt about ready to collapse. My feet might as well fall off. My eyes could go blind, and I wouldn't even notice it. All in all, it was worse than I'd remembered it, and that's saying something.

All I saw was the hill. That big amount of dirt, of piles after piles of soil, each on top of the last, making one huge lump. Just like the one in my throat.

I ran alongside her, as fast as I could carry my tiny self, while she tried to shield both of us from danger. I looked at her for the hundredth time today, and realized yet another thing I'd missed over the years: Right now, she was running _from_ something, contrary to what I was doing. My feet were carrying me towards what I wished to avoid and yet, I couldn't turn and run the other way, either. I was stuck between two unavoidable fates, though, the way I saw it, the danger wasn't behind, but _ahead. _

Still, if I kept running, I could reach the Hill and stop this. The repeating actions weren't as deadly as the one about to follow. Thalia wasn't mad at me yet, and I intended to keep it that way.

I fell.

Immersed as I was in my thoughts, I hadn't remembered to _remember. _I completely forgot about the hateful little rock laying there on the ground, just waiting to trip me. Fortunately, I recalled the next part and I rolled out of the way before the monster could tower over me. I brought my knife up in an arc and slashed blindly, wrinkling my nose as the yellowish powder sprinkled over me. I felt an arm around my shoulders, and an alarmed voice, trying to help me to my feet.

Only this time, they were Thalia's.

"You okay? Come on, we have to keep running. We're very close now."

I nodded and got up as quickly as I could manage. My feet resumed their never-ending task. My blood boiled, and heat rose up to my face, meeting my ears, and making a sound so loud and distracting, it drowned out everything else. The steep ground became flat, and I sighed shakily. I wasn't even sure if it was in relief. I spotted Luke to the far left, battling _dracaenae_ by himself, while Grover bleated around, panicky . This was it. The monsters ran up to meet us, overwhelming every single one of our senses. The tiredness didn't matter any longer, only the natural instinct of our bodies to stay alive at any cost. Adrenaline ran quickly, spreading "fight" to all my muscles, tensing them. Thalia didn't say anything for a heartbeat, and then yelled,

"Luke! Get Annabeth and Grover over the border! Yell for help!"

Luke didn't have time to hear her. He and Grover were flung downhill, straight past the boundaries, hitting their heads in the process, and lay motionless on the grass. Water began caressing my face, splashing it coldly and cruelly. I blinked the drops away, both coming from my eyes and the sky.

The sky was crying, too.

"Help! Anybody!" I yelled frantically, with a shrill voice, to no avail. Thunder drowned out everything else, except for the blood rushing from my arms to my legs. From my legs to my brain. I stepped closer to Thalia, we were shoulder to shoulder now, and she didn't complain. Of course, she tried to protect me as best she could, but when the Furies began soaring over us, she couldn't anymore. I found that my body was more agile, but it had less strength, so I kept dodging instead of killing. Rain poured on both of us, but there wasn't any nerve in our bodies to register the damp coldness. Every single one of them was focused on two different things. For her, survival. For me, change.

And I didn't know how long I stood there, feeling her shoulder press against mine, until we were surrounded.

"Thalia, watch out!" I yelled .

One of the Furies swooped down and slashed at her. She zapped her in reflexive response, causing an explosion. Like Luke and Grover, I flew. I flew until the landing was inevitable, hearing the _thud _before I felt it. A second passed, I didn't feel it. Another second flashed by, still nothing. Then another and my face was kissed by green, then I saw stars, then I smelled grass, right in my nose. Once more, I saw drops falling from the crying stars, letting me know their grief as thunder crashed one last time, and a piercing sound joined the noise, but was quickly lost in it.

Then, silence.

I scrambled to my feet, and began walking uphill in pain's direction until flesh met green fabric, and someone put their arms around me.

I thrashed violently in his iron grasp, but my screams were worse. I let out five years of feelings into that sound. Feelings that could not be put into words. I screamed in grief, I screamed in defeat, in fear, in longing, in rage, in hatred, in realization. I screamed in _pain. _Pain that had stuck with me for such a long time and that I had never learned to cope with. I realized I would have to begin, if I wanted to live. But I couldn't fully grasp it now, and so I moved on to screaming words, some incoherent, but sending the message as clear as day.

"Let me go! I have to save her!"

"Annabeth, she's gone. Look." Percy said in such a mature voice, I had a hard time believing it was his. I stopped my crazy behavior enough to do as he asked, much to my heart's protests, and looked over to the Hill.

The bark was tall and strong, the leaves a beautiful shade of green, almost glowing in the starlight. It stood majestically on top of that big pile of dirt, making it look so much like the one I knew.

"Why did you bring me back here? Why?! I thought I could stop the accident!" I complained, and, even though my tone was harsh, it was not intended for him.

"You couldn't stop the accident because it was never your fault. Don't you realize? She would've died anyway. She knew what she was doing, Annabeth. You never made her lose it." He said as I continued to sob. His arms were still around me, but not as a restraint anymore. Now, they acted up as comfort.

"It was my fault. It was my fault," I mumbled over and over. His voice shushed me.

"You didn't come back to stop it from happening, just to learn what caused it. That's what Lee said anyways, but you need to forgive yourself."

I dropped to my knees, knowing he was right, for once. I cried, but the feeling of guilt left me, slowly, reluctantly. It unclasped its claws from my heart, and the scars that were left behind began to heal.

"We need to go. Campers are coming, and Luke's begging to wake up." He said as he stood up. I did the same and he proceeded to call for Clyde with some names I didn't even know were in his very-limited-vocabulary.

***

We were standing in the commons area, my friends' faces a mix of emotion. Silena was the first to recover.

"Thank the gods! We have been waiting for you guys _forever!_ Mr. D came around with Tantalus, and we had to hide. Even Lee was begging to freak out!" She babbled.

"So what did you do!?" Connor asked, and even though his words might've been intended for mockery, there wasn't one single trace of it, which made it weird. Still, Travis smacked him, and Lee glared at him.

"What did you learn, Annabeth?" Lee asked.

I felt five pairs of eyes staring intently at me. I sighed.

"I found out I wasn't responsible for the accident."

"Of course you weren't." Silena said.

"Then what's the matter?" Percy frowned, uncomprehendingly as though this new discovery of mine was supposed to make everything better and peachy. I turned to him, and looked down.

"It makes me….angry, that she will never know I'm fine, I have friends and that I miss her every day." I explained, and Lee got a look of something in his eyes.

"That's not necessarily true," he whispered smugly.

Fog formed next to him, and a transparent girl stepped out.

She personified the sky itself.

She had a unique haircut, black as night. She wore ratty clothes, like clouds before a storm, a signature style of her. Freckles scattered messily across her nose, like stars. Her eyes were the color of raindrops, ever-so expressive, and appeared to be made out of pure lightning. She had the moon shining in her heart, and a whole thunderstorm for moods.

I ran in front of her, my eyes watery. My heart racing, longing to get out of my chest so it could scream in excitement.

"Of course I know who you are, silly, and what you've become." Thalia shook her head, smiling at me. "And yeah, I've been with you every step of the way, but like a good brainiac, you kept me here," she placed a hand near my head, "And forgot to keep me here," She placed her other hand near my heart. "I'm proud of you, Annabeth, but my approval was never what you needed." She snorted then, "Typical Annabeth to blame it on yourself. I hope you get it now, that it was never your fault. I never left. Just remember that the next time you try a stunt like this," she stepped forward, and put her arms close to me, as if enveloping me in a hug. Her armes passed right through me, and she frowned then. "It's strange, I keep forgetting….." She trailed off, and turned to me again. "Keep it up, I swear, I never met a braver person in my life. And hey, we're _still_ family, you know. We didn't break our promise." she smiled, and shimmered away, leaving everyone frozen in their places.

"_She _was Thalia? As in _the _Thalia, daughter of the boss up there?" Connor muttered, and Travis didn't seem to be any more collected than his brother was.

"Uh, Lee?" Percy wondered.

The son of Apollo smiled at us.

"Let's just say I owe Clyde now."

**The End**


End file.
